Degassing fluids



July 12, 1960 'Filed April 25, 1957 H. H.A DOUGLAS ET AL DEIGASSING FLUIDS l I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JN'VNToRs DEGASSING FLUIDS Filed April 25, 1957 2 sheets-sheet 2 FWG. 2

United States Patent Mice 21,944,626 n nnoassnso mim' si Henry Douglas,` Mountansida; Edward' H'. Follwell;l

l'oomelmandaRober-t Rifliefreuthaler, Florham Park, NJ., asslgnorsV to PittsburghnPlate'Giass Company, a corporation' of Pennsylvania rneuxprlzs; 19u57, seaNoi. 655,146

3 Claims. (Cl- ISB-2.5),

tend tobecome entrappedor otherwise occluded in@ viscous liquids such as coating compositions. lof= various types Thisis especially truein,1 those ins-tances in which the formation. ou treatment of the composition; involves agitation,f beating, o1'- kneading. operations` which tend to intold` or otherwise to introduce bubbles'of air or. other gaseous media into the mass, The problemisparticularly pronounced in those insta-ncesinwhich the flui'ds highly viscous; andcirpigmented and/or pasty in eharacter and bubbles ofA gas move only very slowly therein.- I-nnor; malcourse ofevents, the-absorbed gases and bubbles na remain suspendeder for long periods of time in such u1 s. Y Y

)ln-.order toE eliminate bubbles from highly viscous` liq.- uids, it has heretofore been proposedf to; subjectvthe, liquidsinf containers to reduced pressures Whichftend'y to free absorbed gases and to increasel the' size ofand to calesce` the bubbles and thusk to' facilitate the removal. thereof. u v

z Inoue ot the more efficient embodiments oli apparatus fon eiectingsthis treatment, viscous liquids are fed, to the surface of a` disc orwbowl revolving. at high' speed ial vacuum chamber., The fluid is thus spreadout as a4 thin flowing vsleetwhichis` exposed to vactuzm totdegas the Same s 'l type Hf4 apparatus is ot highcapacity andlarge volun'ie'sf o Iliquids can:n be treated therewith inl a relatively short: periodjoftime.: However, the` apparatus is rather complicated and" expensive; especially forthe treatmentffof small volumes of. material1 It iswalso, hea-uyland difficult totransportror move. p

Moreover, the degasiiicationvisnot always complete as might have been desired istrue atleast in. part because the period of exposure of the film upon: the re volvingdisc or bowl is very brief,r therefore, there is only a short period of time for the coalescence, growth and escapeo the bubbles, or. absorbed. gases,v` or volatileliquids. A y Y Furthermore; theapparlatus is diicultrtoclean.- Considerable Ytime; and `effort is required to obtain thorough cleaning atthe endA of` a runs Y p Y Y invention comprises the provision. of-van, apparatus for dcgassing l or deaerating f-liquids andA notably viscous liquidsin which the foregoing diiculties are jointly or severally eliminated or reduced to a: minimum.V These desiderata are attained by provision of a vacuum chamber for treatingV the liquids which is equipped with an improvedfeeding and distributing device comprising a cone-like baffle which is made tosfunction asa spreading device fr liquid and aIs'o as a gate fof regulating the Patentedv July 12, 19,60

iiow of` fluidA through'V the inlet tother vacuum chamber.

Asa -still further feature,lthe1 apparatusmay be conf structed: as a bell-like shell hav-inga removable bottom permitting the insertion' ofshipping or storagefcontainers as receivers for the liquid being degassed-. The filled containersfthereforq need not be ,emptied until; the; con# tents are to be used.4 The necessity of contacting-the Walls of thewvacuutn, chamber Wit-hf` liquid, -is thus re; duced. or eliminated with concomitant,reduction` ofi the loss of material and reduction of the labor' in cleaning the apparatus at the' end ofla run.v f

kThis apparatus canbefused' tor degas or deaerate` subs stautiallly any materialv requiring. such treatment, but. it

has been deemed to= bte/"particularlyv usefula in` treating highly .viscous liquids' which-dow but slowly and which are thereforel diicult to. degas or to ,deaeratef The, liquids, however, may be of` any reasonablervisco'sity, from that of rwaterv tok such.viscosity that they will hardly move. The, apparatus hereinV disclosedY can be: throttled to handle all v-iscosities.- For example, the apparatus operates quite Well with liquids of a high viscosity, eg.y

of about 600; 25,000 or 30,000 centipoises.. One'type 0f material upon which the apparatus isa particularly t effectiveA comprises` theY so-called ,plastisols" which` are viscous dispersione otv about 10,000 to 30,000 ,centipoises comprising. pulverulent` polyvinyl chloride,l or copolymers oi Vinyl chloride with other monomers suchv as vinyl'. acetate, in liquid.plasticizerssuch as dioctylphthalate or other liquid ester,l typeplasticizer. It will beappreciatedt that. the. polyvinyl chloride may berreplaeed, at least-in: part,v by other dispersible plastic materials such Vas synthetic rubbers, polyvinyl acetateand. others well. knownin. the art. Many substituents for dioctyl phthalate constituting the plasticizer referred to are knownh and may be used in place of. the latterrinf making l upthe plastisol compositions.

Plastisol compositions as articles per se are more fully elaborated upon in. a commonly owned application: to

' Donald P.:- Hart. and` .Iosepl'n E.. Plasynski, led January 143A 1957,: Serial Number 634,564.. In. the plastisols,l the polyvinyl: chloride is lessentially a :dispersion4 of` line par.-

Y ticles in. the liquid plasticizer and in the curing of films of this material, the plasticizer. is taken up. intothe plastisol to provide `the ultimate. hard,V resista-nt film.

In forming. plastisolsit is to be appreciated that the' Y plasticizer and plastic material are milled together,along with other components` vauch; as modifying resins as above mentioned, pigments and the like.. One'ncommon type of, apparatus comprises a4 mill, or mixer of the typ'e employed. -inv mix-ingr dough. Y In. the milling operation,

much gas is introduced into the liquidas bubbles and/or as filmsof gas around vthe particles and because of the viscosity of the liquid, its escape 4is very slo Wl--A f e Before this material` can be4 employed for coating purposes, it is. necessary to remove a substantial amount of,

or all of the bubblesv introduced in the milling opera tion. Becauserof kthe viscosity `of the materiahwhich usually runs within the aforementioned range of about 10,000 vto 30,000 centipoises, this is a. relatively difficult operation in whichV the apparatus of this invention is outstandingly successful. Doubtless, -therc are many other viscous liquids which` are also dicu-lt. to degasify or deaerate and the use of the present apparatus in such operation is contemplated, as is the degassing of more iluidmaterials from which gases can be more readily removed. s

`For more complete understanding of the invention, reference may now be had tothe appended drawings in which likenumerals refer tolikeparts throughout and in which:A l

Fig. 1 is a view partially in section and partially in eIevation of a preferred form'of the invention;

ata/ideas Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating means for cleaning the apparatus.

The apparatus as shown, comprises a bell-like shell lil of sheet steel or other appropriate material of suitable strength and durability. This shell comprises a domelike top l2 and cylindrical side walls i3. The top as shown, is provided with glass windows as at 14, for viewing operations within the shell. If desired, one or more of the windows may be sealed in bezel ring 14a which is hinged as at 14h to the top of the shell whereby the window can be opened to facilitate cleaning of the shell. Needless to say, this operation can not be performed while vacuum is exerted in the shell. Obviously, the edge of the bezel should rest upon an appropriate gasket in order to insure a seal within the shell.

Eye .bolts 15 may also be welded to the shell and by means of these, a spreader i6 of a tackle line i7 is attached for lifting purposes. The line is further passed over a suitable power multiplying device such as a differential pulley indicated schematically at lig. The latter in turn, is attached to `a support such as a beam i9, by means of a clevis device comprising side plates 2l and tie bolts 22 drawing them toward each other.

The edge of the shell normally rests upon a gasket 23 of rubber or other soft, sprngy material in a groove 24 in a base plate 2S, whereby to provide an air tight seal in the container.

In order to increase pressure upon the gasket, swing bolts 27 having nuts 2S, may be attached to the edge of the base plate by means of brackets 29. As many bolts as may be required may be employed though for purposes of illustration, but two are shown. In some instances, these swing Ibolts may be eliminated entirelyand reliance placed upon the weight of the shell and the external atmospheric pressure exerted upon the shell, when the lat- -ter is evacuated, to maintain a seal. Brackets 31, one for each swing bolt, are provided upon the lower portion of the side wall of the shell. rl`hese brackets have slots 32 receiving the swing bolts, whereby when the nuts of the latter are tightened, the shell and the vbase are drawn firmly together.

The shell further comprises a vacuum outlet as indicated 4at 33 which may be joined to an appropriate source of vacuum, for example, by a hexible hose 34. Preferably, the outlet 33 and the hose 34 are joined together by a snap connection 35 which may be of any convenient type. For purposes of illustration, it is shown as comprising projecting pins 36 upon the outlet and a sleeve 37 upon the end of the hose, said sleeve having bayonet slots 38 with `lateral portions 39 providing cam surfaces so that when the sleeve is twisted, force is exerted upon the pins to draw the parts of the connection into hrm en'- gagement with each other. A washer or gasket 4l of rubber or other soft resilient material is also disposed within the sleeve in position to be compressed between the end of the outlet 33 and the end of the stem 42 of the coupling.

Apparatus to feed liquid to be degassed into the shell comprises an inlet tube 43 disposed centrally in the domed top portion 12 of the shell and projecting downwardly through the latter. The tube has a hange 43a welded thereupon. This tiange rests upon a boss 43b upon the top of the shell and encircling the plate and is held in place by screws 43C. Obviously, a gasket (not shown) may be interposed 'between the harige and the boss to provide a seal. The inlet has a side arm 44 above the top portion i2 and this arm may be connected as for example by means of a snap connection (not shown) to a hose. The snap connection may be similar to that already described in connection with the vacuum line and further description thereof is not deemed to be necessary at this time. It will also be understood that the hose to the varm 44 is further joined to a convenient source of huid to be degassed, for example to a hopper or a tank (not shown) containing the same. Flow may be by gravity or a pump (not shown) may also be employed to promote, or to meter the how of huid. In most instances, the vacuum within the shell is adequate to produce feed of the liquid to be deaerated. A single pump is thus made to serve the dual purpose of promoting flow of liquid to ibe kdeaerated and of producing vacuum to remove the gases.

Means to regulate the how of liquid through the inlet and concurrently to spread the material as it hows as a thin, relatively uniform tilm or sheet, comprises a coneiike bathe 46 which is several times the diameter of the inlet tube 43. It also is disposed concentric with respect to the inlet 43 and the lip L of the latter acts as circular, or ring-like spreader blade, the axis of which coincides with t-he axis of the cone so that the material flowing downwardly through the inlet will be diverted outwardly and downwardly and the lip will wipe the sheet to a relatively uniform thickness to assure wetting of the bathe by the composition and uniform distribution and exposure of the material to vacuum.V The bathe is joined at its apex with a vertical rod or shaft 47 by appropriate means, such as a chuck or a collar, or as shown for purposes of simplicity, by a screw 48 having a wing-like head or hand hold 45a and being threaded into the lower end of the rod and providing means whereby the bathe may be quickly attached or detached.

The rod, near its upper end, is further provided with a screw threaded portion 49, engaging similar threads of a plug 51 welded, or otherwise fixed in the upper end portion of the inlet 43. It should be suthciently long definitely to guide and to center the rod. The upper end of the rod 47 further extends through -a plug 52 threaded into the upper end of a gland 53 having a resilient packing 54, said packing being squeezed by the plug, whereby to provide a seal about the rod. The rod, at its extremity, is provided with a hand wheel S5 or other appropriate meansy whereby the shaft m-ay ibe rotated thus to advance or retract the bathe 46 from the inlet 43. II'he wheel could also be replaced by a worm gear rotated by a worm, whereby to effect delicacy of control of the movement of the shaft.

The huid is, in etect, extruded as a tube which, at its lower end, is expanded into a hollow cone, the thickness of the walls, of which, is controlled by adjustment of the position of bathe. In this way, the how of huid tothe inlet is adjusted to meter the how of huid between the outlet and the bathe to attain any desired thickness of the film which is undergoing the deaeration. It will be appreciated that it is an advantage of the present construction that the huid as it hows out of the inlet, is brought yinto intimate, wetting contact with the surface of the bathe. The how down along the sides of the rod is uniform, so that the distribution of fluid upon the surface of the bathe in turn, is quite uniform. Iihis is desirable for maximum ethciency in degasifying the material.

It will be noted that the surface of the bathe is disposed in such position with respect to the glass or glasses 14 as will facilitate optimum viewing of the hlm thereupon. iIt is thus possible to ascertain the degree of deaeration of the material without breaking the vacuum to admit of withdrawing samples for external examination.

The liquid upon the bathe 46 is in quiet stream how so that there is but little or no spattering of the glasses or of the interior of the shell 10 by droplets thereof. Cleaning of the apparatus is thus reduced to a minor operation. If desired, such operation can often be even further facilitated by removing the screw 43 to admit of removing the bathe 46 fromthe rod 47 thus permitting the bathe to be cleaned as a separate unit, as by scraping or by washing. Free access is also thus provided to the inlet 43 to permit scraping or washing of the latter by means of a hand operated tool as may be desired.

A receiver for the liquid materials to be degassed is indicated as being a drum-like container 56 having a cylin- A k'5 chiesi s'id weil. censiti-ef' is: cie-'sea t iwer end by" bottoni 57 Iro ed ocrimped upon theY llower edge fueiwalr. A: its upper end, raccontati-1er" is Ya,treinen provided v'itlih ajollefd edge-59 providing a seat for` a Vlid (not vshowen The Beine 46, it will be; observed, is dtspo'sfd in contiguity to the topfo'f the drum, but may be either somewhat above or Abelow the latter, but in any event, iris desrrabie mature topy be so positioned that the liquid material owin'g down the' baffle will fall into the container either as drops" indicated atrD,or as a more'o'r less sheet-like ow, or a Iseries of slieetlike iiows.

' Manifestly as-the material falls downwardly, the degasication is continued further to completetlie removal of any residual bubbles and absorbed gases which may be trapped. While the bubbles are falling, the material is exposed on all sides; thus permitting removal of bubbles which otherwise would be too deeply embedded in the material td' escape.

'I'he material,I as it falls dowiiu'lardly,l strikes the body of liquid collected in the container and is spread out to a substantialV degree over the surface thereof as the material accumulates, thus facilitating further and more; prolonged exposure to the action of vacuum.

`Norr`r`1ally,in the operation of the apparatus as described, fluid will be allowed toiiow in through the inlet 43 at appropriate rate to obtaink a desired degree of deg'as'sin'g action until'the container isniilled to an appropriate height, at which' time', the baffle 46 may be closed by means of the hand wheel 55`to halt the flow of ma terial. The material in the container may be allowed to stand, if desired, under vacuum for any desired length of time or the container can be removed immediately. To facilitate the removal, it is necessary that the vacuum be broken thus releasing the atmospheric pressure upon the container. The swing bolt 27 may then be released and the shell can be lifted by means of the tackle apparatus. The container 56 may be closed with an appropriate lid or cover and set aside for shipment, or storage as may be required. When it is desired to resume operations, an empty container may be placed upon the base 25. The shell 10 may be returned to a position oyer a fresh container, the bolts 27 may be tightened and the hose connections for the supply of uid and the application of vacuum restored. By operation of the hand wheel 55, the -baiiie 46 is again lowered to adjust the iiow of fluid to the inlet to appropriate velocity, which can 40e co'nveniently observed through the sight holes 14 already referred to.

If the delay between the removal of one container and the replacement thereof by an unfilled container is substantial, or if there is to be a change in the composition to be deaerated, it may be desirable to clean the baiiie 46 and the inlet 43 before operations are resumed.

If extended runs are to be conducted with the foregoing apparatus, or if there is no particular objection to substantial cleaning operations at the end of a run the iiuid from the inlet 43, after it has flowed down the baie 46 may be allowed to fall directly into the shell 10. In order to permit 'the deaerated iiuid in the bottom of the shell to be drained, the bottom 25 is provided with an outlet conduit 62 having a valve 63. When the If preferred, the vacuum line 34 may be connected to aV source of gas under pressure or may be replaced by a pressure line. A line 64 having a pressure gauge 64a 'same along with inlet 43 and cone 46.

Y 6 I j tie Ventre se@ be 1 geen thus pryrdifrg say; lfr he gs rut-1st be fe in puce by ti" Ht 'g the swing-'bo s z sire-d sie containers s y be inspiraitY in psitie f the' snellen he essere' .d uuid* u'wef teurere in fue sans@ miur it is' ful-1 asd-ure enterrar drain-sever' fue upper 'edge tutti flawsi dewu @he side wang errug een. taine'r. In sd doing, ai thin filtri ori` s'ylell is' fiit'lier expesed te vacuum, .illusl incita v4the; league er' time organisierte For purposes-#ef ermittrrig fue drs rug algtlie bottoni 6r base asma be p'rmild'` vs'iithLV ,Y F l permit" fue degassed third te o @f the cqntainer'jarf our of th v I tlr'ontalner 56* 1 ,6, the latter may se cr ed: frra'v ,b'fepieeed uy' andthe-r cylindrical body wh i is' closed at'V bt'ii ridsf sotlit liq'uidsrare not" retained therein, but dritl down tl outerperimeter. Y A P'artijculia' emphasis" deaerating vis'ctsli I f fore igappaftl'ls riy` also be `used' f reni vc"l'til`'e"'Sonstituents"v suoliv a's" sbl"- vfifsffourreauliquids t .Y t

In Fig'. 24v is illistiated air appropriate emb irie'nt` of apparatus for cleansing t'lie deaerator as 'disclosed 'ifi Figi-f apparatus @alpages au pfeueotaifner 'fo for solvent, or other medium adapted to flush the surface of the deaerator apparatus. As shown in Fig. 2, the apparatus includes appropriate means, such as blocks 7|1 adapted to hold the bottom of the shell 10 above the bottom of the container in order to permit the free flow of fluid from the shell. Obviously, other means for supployed. For example, the shell may be held in suspended position by the tackle apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1 but with the lower edge immersed in or supported above the liquid in container 70.

Circulation of cleaning liuid through the shell and the appurtenances thereof is elected by means of a conduit 72 providing an outlet near the bottom of the container and being provided with ow promoting means such as centrifugal pump indicated diagrammatically at 73. The upper portio'n 74 of the conduit is provided at its terminus with a suitable snap connection, e.g. a pin connection 76 corresponding to the connection 35 illustrated in Fig. 1 andl being adapted to provide a uid-tight connection with the arm 44 of the inlet tube 43.

By operating the pump 73 with an appropriate supply of fluid in the container 70, fluid is caused to discharge downwardly through the inlet tube 43 and over the cone 46 thus effectively cleaning the inlet tube and all portions of the apparatus which are likely to come into contact with the iiuid being degassiiied.

Obviously, other embodiments of apparatus could be employed for cleaning the construction shown in Fig. 1.

For example, a drum such as is shown in Fig. l could be set in the shell 10 to catch wash liquid which can then be pumped in through inlet arm 44 to wash the Indeed, the cleaning operation may readily be performed manually, if so desired.

The forms of the invention illustrated are by way of example. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications may be made therein without departure from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for degassing a viscous liquid comprising a shell, means to apply vacuum within the` shell, means to feed viscous liquid to be degassed to the shell, the latter means comprising a feed line having an outlet portion discharging downwardly into the top of the shell ,F7 and having a circular lip upon the lower extremity thereof, a cone-like baille disposed below the outlet portion with the apex thereof disposed coaxially upward with respect to the lip and having -a base diameter several times greater than the diameter of the lip, whereby to distribute the liquid vas it emerges from the outlet portion as a thin, flowing sheet, and means to vary the distance between the lip and the apex of the bathe fromclosed position to a position wherein the rate of iow is controlled to spread the liquid by wiping action of the lip acting as `a circular blade about the apex of the bathe to form a uniform film for degassing, the film being exposed to vacuum while flowing upon the baffle and being further exposed to Vacuum as it drips from the edge of the bafe.

2. Apparatus for degassing viscous liquids comprising a bell-like shell receiving a container to be filled with degassed liquid, a detachable bottom of the shell upon which the lower edge of the shell rests, a gasket between the edge and the bottom, sealing against theentrance of air into the shell, latch means detachably to secure the shell upon the bottom, means to apply vacuum to the shell, means to feed a viscous liquid to be degassed to the shell, the latter means comprising a Vfeed line having an outlet portion discharging downwardly into the top of the shell and having a circular lip upon the lower extremity thereof, a cone-like bathe disposed below the outlet portion with the apex thereof disposed coaxially upward with respect to the lip and having a base diameter several times-greater than the diameter of the lip, and supporting the liquid 4as it emerges from the outlet portion as a thin, `iiowing sheet, and means to vary the distance between the lip and the apex of the baffle from closed position to a position wherein the rate of flow is controlled and the liquid is spread to form said flowing sheet suitable for degassing, by wiping action of the lip 'acting as a circular blade about the apex of said bathe, the film being exposed to vacuum while owing upon the baffle and being further exposed to vacuum as it drips from vthe edge of the baille.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which a sight window is provided in the top of the shell to provide means al1-owing the operator to observe the lling operation.

References Qited in the le of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,145,047 Wiedemann et al. July 6, 1915 1,575,287 Spindler Mar. 2, 1926 2,404,468 Vokes etal July 23, 1946 2,668,598 Seed Feb. 9, 1954 2,714,938 Smith Aug. 9, 1955 2,748,886 Wildebour .Tune 5, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 393,094 Great Britain June 1, 1933 713,602 Germany Nov. 1l, 1941 

